The Family
by leeg22
Summary: The bodies of a missing family turn up nine years after they were last seen and D.I Nicola Baxter's case is soon turned into a UNIT investigation when alien traces are found on the bodies. Kate Stewart calls in the Doctor to help and as time ticks, finding out who killed the Hanners family will put more than just Nicola's job on the line - everyone is in danger! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 1

* * *

D.A.C. REITH'S OFFICE, SCOTLAND YARD, PRESENT DAY:

"The bodies of the missing Hanners family have officially been recovered, police have confirmed." said the television newsreader authoritatively before pausing for a brief moment of silence. "The family, who have been missing for more than nine years were recovered yesterday evening with positive matches for all family members confirmed as of this morning. No cause of death has been given but Scotland Yard have confirmed an investigation has been launched into their deaths." she added as the television was then switched off.  
"This is you Nicola," boomed a deep-voiced man to Detective Inspector Nicola Baxter. The man was her boss, Laurence Reith, and he was also the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. He was in his mid-60s with barely any hair left and deep bags under his eyes. His face looked wearied by time but deep down was still something of his younger self there.  
"Thank you for this opportunity, sir…" said Nicola politely. She was in her early 40s with a short brown bob of a haircut and a business-like suit at her disposal with pockets filled with pens, pencils and any form of paper she could fit into them. Nicola was career-driven and knew this case would be the one to define her. Until now she'd been in charge of cases against thieves and the odd murder case, but nothing this high profile.  
"It's no problem DI Baxter, but we have found some problems from preliminary tests carried out this morning." DAC Reith then said as he slouched back into his seat. He looked concerned but smiled for a brief moment – it was always his way and everyone at the Yard was used to it. Nicola didn't speak and just stared at her boss in silence waiting for his next words. "The pathologists think something odd, erm….how should I say this…other-worldly is involved somehow. I don't know what that it and they can't tell me for obvious reasons, but they've drafted in some experts with immediate effect to join us in the case."  
"Who?" interrupted Nicola. "It's my case, I should know all these things, sir."  
"The Unified Intelligence Taskforce…UNIT – no, me neither, but they've confirmed what the pathologists feared." DAC Reith said as he leaned forward in his chair looking at DI Baxter all the way throughout. "They think aliens are involved…"

THE TARDIS, UNKNOWN TIME:

The Doctor sat reading in silence as the TARDIS hummed in the background. Life had been so quiet since Amy and Rory had gone for good. It was back to just him and his time machine with plenty of quiet in-between for him to contemplate on things. Yes, there were little trips here and there but something was missing in his life now. Suddenly, the TARDIS monitor beeped and beeped again. The Doctor leapt up out of his seat and rushed over to the centre console. He'd changed it all to rid his memories of the Ponds and he was still getting used to it, but he eventually found the monitor after a brief moment of forgetting where it was placed.  
"Ah ha…" he said with his arms waving all about. "Hello?" he asked as the wavy image tried to stabilise itself. "Hello?" he tried again.  
"Doctor?" came a wispy voice through the message. "Doctor? Is that you?"  
"Y…y…yes," he said. "It's me." He bashed the monitor on its side to make things focus but it didn't work. The Doctor grew impatient with it all and hit the monitor twice more, still nothing happened.  
"Doctor," came the voice again as suddenly the picture formed into view with a lady looking on somewhat regally but authoritatively. The Doctor stood back and just grinned.  
"Kate." he said simply. "Kate Stewart – you're getting as bad as your dad for contacting me like this. Lethbridge-Stewart's seemingly don't know the meaning of private at times do they?" Kate just sighed at the Doctor's doctor-like behaviour.  
"Pleasantries aside Doctor, UNIT needs you and fast. I don't know if you know on the news about the Hanners family, but it's about them. We need another opinion, your opinion."  
"Why, what is it? What's happened, Kate?" the Doctor asked as he flicked his hair out of the way.  
"We think something extra-terrestrial was involved in this incident. We're not sure and we've got the police on our backs. Their leading officer isn't letting us go I'm afraid. We've had to join their investigation – UNIT and the police don't go hand in hand I'm afraid. We think aliens are involved and they don't. It's why we need you and fast…"  
"I'll come right away. Where do you need me?" the Doctor then asked.  
"The co-ordinates are being sent to you know," said Kate. "Be quick…" she added as the TARDIS rumbled into life.

PATHOLOGY LAB, UNIT HQ, LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

"What's your verdict?" asked one pathologist as he eagerly waited for the Doctor's response.  
"Don't rush him…" said Kate. "The Doctor is the expert here, let him decide when to speak." she added as she watched the Doctor survey what remained of the Hanners family. Laid out side by side, all four family members had decomposed badly but showed signs of something wrong on them. Marks and gashes all over their bodies with a circular tattoo-like insignia imprinted on their palm made UNIT wonder what it possibly could be.  
"We assumed they were attacked by a bear or something like that at first," Kate then carried on as the Doctor continued his examination. "But given everything else, it didn't strike us as a normal bear attack."  
"Is there such a thing as a normal bear attack, Kate?" the Doctor asked.  
"I would not know." she said as behind her a door buzzed and in stepped a woman in a hurry.  
"I hope you realise what a delay this is causing in the case, my case…" she said sternly. Kate just looked at her and took her to one side.  
"DI Baxter I understand that you want to do your job, it's fully understandable but we need to take our time here." she said. Nicola just shook her head.  
"Who's he?" she then asked in the direction of the Doctor. "Won't he contaminate things dressed like that?"  
"I assure you I won't…" the Doctor answered simply as he examined the mother's body with a magnifying glass. He frowned considerably. "She's different…" he said.  
"Different?" said Kate. "She's different, how?"  
"The marking is fainter on her than any of the others. Her, I'm sorry, what was her name?"  
"Henrietta." said Nicola.  
"Henrietta," the Doctor then repeated, "she tried to stop something happening to the others. Her wounds are more defence-like than anyone else's. She struggled the most to fight off whatever it was."  
"Was she the first to die then?" the pathologist asked. The Doctor shook his head.  
"No-one died first, they all died in the same moment as if their life switches were turned off in the same second. Someone pulled the plug on them. Lives drained and bodied ruined. Some injuries were before death in the struggle, but the majority are post death. Someone got a right proper kick out of this."  
"Someone…._alien_?" Nicola then asked. "That word sounds so odd, but could it be the case? I need to know, I need to clue myself up on it otherwise. I was preparing for just a regular murder or tragic accident case here, but now I don't know what to think with you lot saying aliens and such." The Doctor stayed silent and just paced round the lab a couple of times. No-one spoke and just waited for him to speak. Kate could see he wasn't quite himself but didn't know why. She knew her dad wouldn't have accepted the Doctor acting like this, but she didn't want to intervene, not yet anyway.  
"Whatever did this, whoever killed this family meant it and meant it well. This was no accident," the Doctor began to explain. "What do we know about their last moments?" he then asked.  
"They were going on a holiday to Cornwall," began Kate. "Their car broke down just outside Horace Hill Woods."  
"Oh, I don't like the sound of this…" muttered the Doctor.  
"It was night time, the kids, Henry and Grace, were worried as you'd expect and Henrietta made a call home letting friends know of their problems."  
"Grainy CCTV then showed John, the husband, get out of the car," continued Nicola. "And then was never seen again. Henrietta and the kids disappeared soon after. Screams were reportedly heard and the car had part of its roof ripped off, but their bodies were nowhere to be found. The footage ends after everyone leaves the car, so whoever or whatever did what they did to the roof is a mystery."  
"The thing is to turn up nine years later though in the area first searched and in the open is strange, Doctor, isn't it?" Kate asked. "Searches were carried out at the time and then here we are nine years on with their bodies. No-one buried them after killing them."  
"Where we they all that time?" DI Baxter then asked "It just doesn't make sense. Three detectives retired because this case got too much for them – I don't want to be the fourth. I want to solve this. I want the Hanners' relatives to get some closure."  
"You're not the only one…" said the Doctor. "Because there is most definitely something other-worldly about this and I'm not in the mood for letting a repeat offence happen."  
"So, what do you suggest?" Kate then asked.  
"I need to see the scene of their demise…" said the Doctor. "Something is bound to fall into place there."


	2. Chapter 2

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 2

* * *

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

The cavalcade of UNIT vehicles came to a halt at their location and was followed shortly after by DI Baxter in her patrol car.  
"Aliens? Are you serious Nicola?" asked her assistant DS Mick Arns. "I know it's your big case but come on, a big army-led bit of society and a bloke dressed in tweed saying aliens are involved doesn't mean they are. Someone killed them, someone killed the Hanners family, that's a fact. We should be out there solving it. Not here by a woods looking at leaves and mud just because they say so."  
"I don't believe in aliens, Mick," Nicola said firmly. "Any avenue for investigation is one that has to be followed up – you know the procedure. Besides, Ms Stewart and that man seem confident in what they're saying. I know we aren't particularly getting along, but I trust her and him."  
"Who is he anyway?"  
"Some expert apparently," answered Nicola. "I never caught his name, but he seems determined to get to the bottom of this, so I like him because of that." she added as she got out of her car. In front of her was Kate who was watching the Doctor scan round the area with what appeared to Nicola as a glowing green screwdriver. It buzzed loudly as the Doctor looked one way then another trying to pick up anything from it. Kate then handed Nicola photos of the scene from the time.  
"If they were on their way to Cornwall," said Kate. "Why would they even be here?" she then asked. "You are the detective after all…"  
"They stopped off at a petrol station about three miles back. Presumably they were just trying to find their way back onto the main roads." she answered. "It doesn't add up though, does it?"  
"No," agreed Kate as she surveyed the wooded landscape. It was all so quiet and lifeless – she'd never seen a wood like it before. In the breeze she was certain she could hear a voice calling out for help, but she quickly dismissed it. Turning back towards the Doctor, Kate could see he was still scanning away with his screwdriver wildly. He wasn't keeping still and was going here, there and everywhere with a puzzled expression on his face.  
"Who is he?" Nicola then asked as she scanned the crime scene photos once more.  
"The Doctor, he's an advisor to UNIT on things like this." began Kate. "He worked alongside my father numerous times and I grew up on tales about him and how wonderful he was. He's a good man that always tries his best, even if he's out of his depth."  
"Is he?"  
"I doubt it…" smiled Kate to Nicola. "Found anything, Doctor?" she then called over. The Doctor shook his head.  
"This place…it's just so….dead. Nothing is here apart from old trees, bits of fly-tipping, a badger and us. That's it – no sign of anything else, ever. I'm surprised no developer has tried to convert this place into houses."  
"There have been attempts, but Horace Hill Woods are reported to be one of those most haunted wooded locations in the country, Doctor. Could that mean anything?" Kate then pointed out as she checked her phone on the woods' details.  
"Haunted means nothing in my books," he countered. "No such thing. Everything has an explanation behind it. This will be no different. I'm just having difficulty in locating where the explanation is going to come from that's all." he added as he stepped forward and tripped seemingly over thin air. Something glimmered a purplish hue on the ground and Kate and Nicola rushed over.  
"Mick, get over here now." commanded Nicola.  
"Same goes for you lot, too." said Kate to several guarding troops. "I take it you're ok, Doctor?" she then asked.  
"Fine…" dismissed the timelord. "But, that isn't…" he then said as he looked at the glimmering section of grass. Kate got her scanner from her pocket to her hand and surveyed it closely. The Doctor did a similar scan with his screwdriver. Nicola and Mick just looked curiously over it all. They'd never seen anything like it; a small section of grass was glowing purple in colour and was glistening in the day's sunlight. For what it was, it was strangely beautiful. The Doctor though looked concerned.  
"3.8 ractels…" he said.  
"Same here," agreed Kate as she moved in closer to the specimen.  
"A ractel?" asked Mick puzzled.  
"Spacey mumbo-jumbo for alien-ness in a scanning device," said the Doctor as his screwdriver buzzed loudly. "Measures of out five, so…were looking good for one here."  
"It doesn't guarantee anything though," pointed out Kate. "Popcorn and certain brands of ice-cream come up with similar readings and no-one is sure why. This is just a piece of land that is glimmering purple for whatever reason."  
"Is it safe?" asked Nicola. "Can we touch it?" Kate didn't respond and neither did the Doctor as he moved to being just inches away from the ground. His sonic was still buzzing as he looked closely at the purplish hue of ground. His old eyes looked it up and down and as he surveyed it, he saw something suddenly move across the hue, he moved back instantly.  
"I saw something," he said. "Something moved down there – something is definitely there." he added as he scanned even more. He'd upped the power on the screwdriver considerably and it showed as its noise levels increased. As he scanned, the mid-afternoon surroundings were turning darker and darker by the moment. Kate looked up and was sure she could hear that faint voice she'd heard earlier, but again she dismissed it. Her priorities were on the darkening day and the glowing ground.  
"What the hell is happening?" asked Mick as the sky grew darker and darker. "It's four in the afternoon for crying out loud." Kate began to scan the air and sky but got nothing and Nicola looked all around and but couldn't see anything. Something very strange was happening. The Doctor meanwhile was still focused on the piece of grass when a flash of purple illuminated all around the woods. It was a bright flicker of light and Mick and Nicola froze in shock while Kate and the Doctor tried to find a logical explanation behind everything.  
"Whatever you were doing Doctor has obviously angered them, whoever they are…" said Kate nervously as the sky glimmered bright purple once more. The light was seemingly encasing everyone and everything around the woods. "I gather it's a force field of some description." she added trying to impress. The Doctor looked all around and picked up a twig and threw it as far as he could. Moments later, a further flash of purple lit up everywhere again.  
"Yep…well done Kate." he said simply. "At a guess, a five-mile radius one, or maybe ten."  
"Can you break through it?"  
"Maybe…" he answered. "But I need to know who I'm dealing with really – I still don't know. The scanning isn't bringing me any answers. Whoever this is has been hiding well." he added as darkness began to settle in around everyone.  
"You've disturbed them then…" said Kate. "Are they likely to harm us?" she then asked as suddenly the ground rumbled and rocked everybody about. Nicola and Mick fell to the ground while the Doctor did his best to hold Kate up.  
"Doctor!" called Kate. "Please tell me you've got a plan because I haven't." The Doctor just shrugged his shoulders. "It better not be just run to the cars." she then shouted.  
"Good plan Kate!" grinned the Doctor madly as he ran towards the UNIT vehicles with Kate rushing after him. The ground was shaking madly but Nicola and Mick did their best to run back to their patrol car. The sky was dark, the shield surrounding them was growing more intense by the moment and the ground's relentless shaking was seemingly all aimed at the Doctor and his associates. Whatever he had done was not favoured by whoever lurked about the woods.  
"Is this them?" Nicola asked to the Doctor as she tried to keep on her feet. "Why now? Is this the investigation that's done it?"  
"Just get into the car, Nicola…" ushered Nick as everyone hid for cover in the vehicles. Silence fell among everyone as the woods were seemingly being ravaged by the rumbling ground. The Doctor, although hidden in a UNIT car, was still scanning away and was amplifying Kate's scanner to help with his readings.  
"Is this likely to stop, Doctor?" Kate then asked. "If not, we need to make a move."  
"It's slowing down…" said the Doctor. "Why I do not know, but it is. Look, look at the sky, lightness is returning. The purple is fading." he observed as the sky grew light once more and the shield around them steadily disappeared. The ground's shaking was also coming to an end and then suddenly, all fell silent once more as if it had never happened. Horace Hill Woods were silent once again but Kate was sure she could still hear a voice somewhere out there. She didn't dare mention it to the Doctor and hoped it would stop. The Doctor then turned round and looked at her with a smile.  
"Got it…" he said. "Not deciphered who they are, but I've got a latch on them - a permanent reading. I need to analyse it back in the TARDIS, but for now, these troops need to stay here." Kate obliged and soon part of the cavalcade made their way back to UNIT HQ. Nicola and Mick swiftly followed and hoped answers would soon be on their way.


	3. Chapter 3

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 3

* * *

KATE'S OFFICE, UNIT HQ, PRESENT DAY:

"So this latch is them, then?" Nicola asked as she made her way into Kate's office. It was pristine with a photo of her father proudly sitting on the desk. Everywhere about it felt old but new at the same time; Kate felt modern but dated in the same way, but it suited her well.  
"Not necessarily," said the Doctor. "But it is our best and closest thing to a lead you could say."  
"The thing is, and I don't get it," began Mick, who was leaning against the door. "Is why would whatever these things are attack an innocent family? They were hardly army people, vigilantes or thugs posing a threat, were they?"  
"You saw what they tried to do to us though," said Kate as she sat down in her seat. "That was a hostile threat with an attempt possibly against our lives. UNIT are treating this as an alien threat. Whatever happened to the Hanners family is of course terrible, but we have to think on the wider scale."  
"What? Do you mean more people are at risk?" Nicola then asked. The Doctor stood still but looked everyone in the eyes – it was a deep, meaningful stare that evoked a yes if stares could do so.  
"This thing, these creatures, whatever they are killed a family…" said the Doctor. "Who's to say they won't kill again? We could very easily have been the next victims. There could already have been more. It's what I'm trying to stop."  
"Why though?" asked Mick. "Why you?" The Doctor just looked at Mick sternly and then towards Kate's desk and the picture of the late Brigadier. He grinned slightly.  
"For him," he said simply as he pointed to the picture. "He was a great friend, a great and dear friend. I'm repaying that friendship to his daughter – I have once already; remember those cubes? - I want to do it again. I want to help; I want to make him proud. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a time machine to see to." he added as he awkwardly left the office. Mick was just silent while Nicola couldn't help but have a smile on her face. She liked the Doctor and his way of dealing with things already. Kate was smiling too and hoped her father would have been proud to hear the Doctor talk so fondly of him. Staring out of her window though, Kate couldn't help but hear that voice again – the voice she'd heard at the woods. It was much clearer this time.  
"Help, help me…" it said. Kate went pale in the face. Nicola and Mick noticed immediately.  
"Are you ok?" asked Nicola. "Miss Stewart?" Kate didn't respond and just continued to stare out of the window.  
"Help me…"called the voice once more before suddenly Kate lurched back in her seat as to her, a figure appeared in front of her. It was the figure of a girl, a young girl. Her face was covered in cuts and grazes and her clothing was torn. Kate was frozen in shock. Nicola and Mick were getting concerned and tried to get her attention.  
"Kate, Miss Stewart…" said Nicola again. "Are you ok? Is everything alright?"  
"Grace…" Kate then eventually muttered. "Grace…oh dear god…"  
"Grace," said Mick. "As in Grace Hanners?" Kate nodded slightly.  
"I've just seen her, I've just seen Grace…"

THE TARDIS, UNIT HQ, PRESENT DAY:

Unaware of what Kate was seeing and hearing, the Doctor was just happy to be occupied with something and was utilising his new TARDIS well with location scanners trying to find a home planet behind the readings and tests trying to find out what the glimmering purple actually was. The TARDIS was humming loudly and the Doctor was humming along with it as he eagerly awaited the results. A ping from across the console then sounded as the Doctor side-stepped his way over to its proximity.  
"Oh my…" he muttered. "I didn't expect that. Well done, old girl…" he added as he patted the console proudly. Getting his screwdriver to hand, he rushed outside the TARDIS. "Kate!" he called. "We've got something!"

D.A.C. REITH'S OFFICE, SCOTLAND YARD, PRESENT DAY:

"You believe them?" quizzed DAC Reith on his office phone. "You actually believe them, Nicola?"  
"I'm beginning to do so, sir." she replied from inside UNIT HQ. "There's just something about the level of belief in both Miss Stewart and the Doctor for me to believe it's true."  
"The Doctor?"  
"He's their special man – he deals with these things a lot. He had a part in the cube problem, sir. He is obviously trusted by UNIT, so I trust him." she responded.  
"What happened to 'this is my case and I'll be in charge?' where's that Nicola gone?" Reith then asked as he was concerned for Nicola. He'd seen her rise through the ranks well and in a defining case like this, he'd have thought she'd have been more in control like she normally was on a case.  
"She's still here, sir…" smiled Nicola. "But in the circumstances, I hardly think being my usual self is appropriate. If I need to be me, I will sir, but not now anyway."  
"Good luck then – keep me informed of progress." DAC Reith then added sternly before hanging up. Nicola just smiled to herself; she still couldn't quite believe she was on such a big case, let alone a case that had possible alien links with it. As she gathered all her thoughts though, Nicola thought she could hear a voice, a faint voice in the distance. Looking round, she could see nobody else in sight.  
"Hello?" she asked. "Was someone speaking to me?"  
"Help…" came the voice. Nicola moved towards the voice's direction but it grew fainter the nearer she made her way to it. She was puzzled. "Help…" came the voice again, although clearer this time. It was a male's voice, not a man, and not a child's. Nicola knew from the case that Henry Hanners was 14, and this voice fitted in with that kind of age.  
"Henry?" she then asked as she looked round thinking of what Kate had seen. "Henry, are you there?"  
"Help…" came the voice once again. "Help me." it added loudly. Nicola looked round once again and then in the corner of her eye, she saw a figure – it was Henry's.  
"Oh my word…" she muttered. "This is not possible. Henry!" she then called as she ran towards the figure. The figure didn't move and then vanished in front of Nicola just as she was about to catch up with it. "Henry…" she said once more but his figure didn't come back this time…

KATE'S OFFICE, UNIT HQ, PRESENT DAY:

"You don't look well," said the Doctor to Kate as he entered her office with a beaming smile etched across his face.  
"It's just a headache," she said dismissively. "I hear you've got something on them, whoever they are."  
"If you pass me your scanner, I can show you exactly – the TARDIS has some imagery of them. I've never met them before, but she stores data from everywhere. I've got a friend with a computer in her attic that does the same." he then explained as Kate handed over her scanner. After a quick buzz from his sonic, the Doctor got Kate's scanner to display the imagery he'd got. "There you go, have a look…" he said as he handed the scanner back over. Kate looked at the image closely and all she could do was sigh. The creature was a long, black and jagged looking thing with spikes, or what looked like spikes on its exterior. It could apparently swim through the air as it had no arms or legs. It had just a big mouth and pincers. Its eyes were a dark green with raw, red scars all over its jagged body. A similar deep red and sharp tail also protuded from its body.  
"This is what did it then?" she asked after a long pause. "This is what killed the Hanners family?" The Doctor took Kate's hand and nodded in agreement.  
"If it didn't, it's a coincidence it was there," he said. "But these creatures, _Deavoes_, are predators – protective predators that can injure, maim and kill with ease. Their planet has long been gone and all they do is roam the universe in search of a home. Anything that breaks into it, intentional or not, is at their mercy. The level of injury is all dependant, but the injuries the Hanners family took tallies up with data on the Deavoes from across the stars."  
"What horrid things," said Kate as she tried to stifle her emotion. She'd remembered the story from the time and it had always struck her as quite a tragedy, but working on it now was bringing it all back. "Do you think they knew that the Hanners were harmless?"  
"Yes…" said the Doctor solemnly. "For them it's more of a reason to attack. Deavoes devour and kill for protection of their own, but more so for fun."  
"What do we need to do then, Doctor?" Kate asked. "We've got men out there guarding that area. Are they at risk? How far and wide do these Deavoes go?"  
"I don't know," the Doctor answered simply. "But we need to be back there, back at the woods."  
"Why?"  
"Something's going to happen tonight, I can tell…" the Doctor answered ominously as Kate looked on nervously.


	4. Chapter 4

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 4

* * *

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

Night had now properly fallen by the time Kate and the Doctor had returned to Horace Hill Woods. Nicola and Mick weren't informed of UNIT's next movements and were now back at Scotland Yard collating any further evidence on the area they could get. Kate though was nervous. Even with the Doctor at her side, she didn't quite feel safe. Seeing the figure of Grace before her had completely knocked her at the time and hearing her voice at the woods earlier on still freaked her out somehow. Grace had been dead for nine years; Kate had seen her body, she was dead, but how had she been communicating with her? Was she a ghost, or was Kate's mind playing tricks with her? She didn't know.  
"You ready?" the Doctor then said to Kate as he opened the car door for her. Kate gathered her thoughts and then eventually joined him. They had to walk around with torches as it was so dark, but even then they weren't helping much.  
"What exactly are we here for now?" Kate asked. "You said it yourself, the Deavoes could attack anyone. We got off lightly with a warning earlier."  
"We did," agreed the Doctor. "But the TARDIS' records of Deavoes found a little titbit of information that is very interesting it has to be said."  
"And what's that?"  
"The glimmering piece of grass is a beacon," said the Doctor. "A beacon, a reminder of their location. A 'we are here' sign if you like. Google Maps for Deavoes – or Deavoe Maps for humans, whichever one you prefer I suppose."  
"I don't understand where this is going, Doctor…" Kate then said as she was getting more and more puzzled by the moment. The Doctor took her hand and led her to the glimmering grass section. Slowly, he moved himself and Kate onto the section of grass and then pulled out his sonic. "Doctor," said Kate. "What are you doing?"  
"Showing how they made their way through…" he explained as the screwdriver buzzed into life. The glimmering section lit up brightly and hints of purple filtered into the sky before a portal appeared next to the Doctor and Kate. It was a like time portal, swirling and wavy, purple all round, it looked majestic in the dark of night.  
"Oh my god," said Kate. "That's beautiful…oddly beautiful."  
"Dangerous too," added the Doctor as he slowly looked into the portal trying to see if any Deavoe would poke its way through. None did but the Doctor didn't mind. "They are in there, Kate. Guaranteed."  
"What happens next though?" she then asked nervously. "Can you send it away? Can you send those things away?"  
"I don't know," came the time lord's response. "We will do our best though." he added as deep within the portal, the Doctor and Kate heard a growling noise. It was followed by several others.  
"Oh dear god…" muttered Kate in a worried tone. The Doctor quickly got his sonic buzzing loudly again and aimed it at the grass section hoping it would undo the portal opening. He'd ushered Kate in the meantime to safety as he tried to reverse his earlier actions. Kate was worried, very worried. She needed help and she knew it.  
"This is Kate Stewart, scientific advisor for the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," she began on her phone. "I need urgent assistance; myself and the Doctor are in danger at Horace Hill Woods. We've traced whatever did the deed against the Hanners family and I think they're about to break through and do the same. There are troops here, but we need more." she added urgently as she ducked behind one of the UNIT vehicles. She was worried and couldn't help but panic as the Doctor was still trying to reverse the portal, but he was getting nowhere. The noises of the Deavoes were getting louder and louder with UNIT troops readying themselves with their guns in anticipation of an incoming attack.  
"Come on you, come on…" rallied the Doctor to his sonic. The growls were worrying him just as much as Kate and he hoped it would all stop soon, but it wouldn't. As he kept on buzzing his sonic, the Doctor caught sight of a Deavoe squirming through the portal. "No! Get back! Stay in there!" he called but the Deavoe didn't listen and pushed its way into the open of the night. Kate froze in shock as troops then began to fire from all directions at it.  
"Stay away you thing!" cried out one soldier.  
"Go to hell!" called another as a flurry of bullets rang all around. The Doctor was in the middle of the crossfire doing his best to close the portal when suddenly he was knocked to the ground by the swinging tail of the deadly advancing creature. Shocked, the Doctor tried to get to his feet but was then lifted up by the Deavoe and flung high and fast into the portal. He didn't even have the time to scream out for help, it was all so quick.  
"Doctor!" cried out a panicked Kate. She couldn't believe what she had seen as things then worsened. The Deavoe, which looked as menacing as the Doctor said it would, manoeuvred around the torrent of bullets and wormed its way back into the portal. Barely a second passed before the portal closed after the Deavoe entered it, leaving the soldiers firing at nothing and Kate in utter desperation. Everything hit her dead on all in one go. UNIT soldiers couldn't believe it either and as more piled in on the scene just moments later, Kate's problems just came to the fore. The Doctor was gone, possibly for good in a portal that she had no clue how to reopen. She didn't know what to do or what was coming next. Should she put out a high alert or was this now it? Had the Deavoes got what they wanted? The Doctor, was he it? Her emotions all coming out in one go, Kate couldn't help but think of one thing. "Dad," she muttered to herself as silence began to filter all around her. "What would you do? Please…help, please…I need you."


	5. Chapter 5

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 5

* * *

INSIDE DEAVOE PORTAL, UNKNOWN TIME:

The Doctor woke up hazily and could barely see a thing. It was near enough pitch black all around. He knew he'd been thrown inside the portal but didn't have a clue to where its actual location was. There were no standout features to distinguish this place from any other dank and dark place in the universe. He could hear the swishing of a Deavoe tail in the distance though and knew he wasn't safe at all. Luckily, his sonic screwdriver had been flung into the portal with him and he soon picked up and began to scan the area on the quietest setting he could put it on. It still glowed green, but its whirr was barely audible.  
"Come on, come on," he mouthed as the sonic scanned around. The swishing tail meanwhile got louder and louder and then out of nowhere, the Deavoe appeared right in front of the Doctor. The timelord lurched backwards but the Deavoe didn't attack. The Doctor was puzzled.  
"Aren't I a tasty treat or something?" he wondered as he bit the back of his hand. "Hmmm, tastes of charcoal." he then mused before the Deavoe then looked him all over. Its devilish red eyes looked hellish against the black backdrop but for some reason, the Deavoe didn't look like it was going to attack. "Lost your appetite?" the Doctor then asked. The Deavoe didn't respond – the Doctor didn't know if it even could – records on the species were limited enough as they were, nothing suggested they could even speak or communicate at all. "Am I a threat?" the Doctor then asked to the Deavoe. "Well, am I? A response would be nice you know." The Deavoe grumbled slightly and then swished its tail in the direction of a box which was strewn on the floor. The Doctor flashed his sonic to light up the area and saw what it was. "Oh, a translation box, how handy…prepare to speak then." he said as the sonic whirred loudly into life.

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

"Miss Stewart?" called a voice as a car door slammed to. "We heard what happened, but how did it happen?" the voice then asked. The voice was Nicola's. She and Mick had been called to the woods by Kate as she was struggling with a plan on what to do next.  
"It just took him" answered Kate. "It was unprovoked. The Doctor was trying to help it, and now he's gone."  
"Gone where?" gruffed Mick. Kate didn't respond and just walked over to the site of where the portal had been. The ground was still warm from the portal but there was no way in which she could get it back. She didn't think Nicola or Mick could do so either, but she needed their support.  
"I gather this is all confirmed now that aliens are behind this?" Nicola then asked despite being sure of the answer. Kate nodded. "Do we know why though?"  
"The Doctor believed the family may have unwittingly provoked them and then that was it." Kate answered. "The 'them' being known as Deavoes by the way." she added as she showed the readings from her scanner to the pair. Mick was just silent but Nicola couldn't quite take it in.  
"How? Why?" she asked to the image of the Deavoe. "Why would you even do such a thing?" No-one replied as the three of them remained in silence as Kate tried to figure out a plan.

INSIDE DEAVOE PORTAL, UNKNOWN TIME:

"Can you talk now?" the Doctor wondered as he brought the translation device back into life. It beeped and popped loudly at intermittent times but it was there to do its job. The Deavoe grumbled once more.  
"You…you…" then announced the box as it began to translate. The Doctor smiled.  
"Go on," he encouraged. "Otherwise we'll be here all day and frankly I have better things to do be doing such as washing my hair or eating a hot dog very slowly."  
"You…" came the box once more. "You got in the way. You needed to be moved from sight." The timelord watched on curiously as the Deavoe swam through the air all around him looking him up and down, sniffing every so often before then grumbling once again. "You smell of…time."  
"I'm a time-traveller, it's a given." said the Doctor. "It's a lovely aroma though, isn't it?"  
"You could help. I am trapped."  
"So it's just you?" the Doctor quizzed.  
"No. I am the trapped one. The others are in here, but are waiting for me to lead the charge."  
"A charge? What on? You just can't attack people you know. You killed a family, an innocent family without just cause. Do you expect me to just let you out?"  
"Yes…" came the simple reply as the Deavoe stared at the Doctor.  
"It's not going to happen. I won't let it happen. I can stay stuck here for as long as I like." the Doctor retaliated. The Deavoe growled loudly as it lurched at the Doctor.  
"If you do not help," began the translation. "Then they will suffer. The one's you are assisting." The Doctor fell silent and began to think things through. He couldn't just let the Deavoe and its numerous others break through and possibly murder more, but could he risk putting Kate, Nicola and Mick's lives in danger? He wasn't sure what to do.  
"What do I need to do to help you all?" he then asked.  
"Let us through once more, one more permanent time. Our portal is in flux. We can only break through every so often. Unless we are under attack, it is a waiting game for it to work again." came the translation's reply.  
"And what if I refuse to help?" the Doctor queried. "I can do that quite easily you know." The Deavoe swished round the Doctor one more time and then growled loudly.  
"Look to your left, light up the left." came the answer. The Doctor was puzzled but soon used the sonic to light up the area to his left. There, in front of him were many bones of many different bodies. The Doctor gulped.  
"Ah," he said as the Deavoe moved in closer to him.

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

The night was getting darker but Kate still just stared at the place where the Doctor and the portal once were. Nicola and Mick had returned to their car and were just looking on.  
"Is she alright?" Mick asked. "I mean, it is cold out. She'll catch her death standing out there any longer."  
"She's contemplating." said Nicola. "It's what women in power often do. Trust me, I often do."  
"About what?"  
"Things." Nicola replied. "Home mostly and whether I'm doing the right thing in just carrying on with my career without a thought for the kids."  
"You're perfectly fine as you are." said Mick reassuringly. "The kids are fine for you. It's mine that should be worrying – I don't even see them now with these working hours. I'm awake when they're asleep and vice-versa. God knows what they think of me. At least yours see you enough."  
"I suppose," agreed Nicola before pausing. "Do you think Kate's got kids?" she then blurted out without even thinking.  
"Who are we to know? She looks far too career-driven if you ask me." Mick answered. "Career-driven women like her don't come around too often. I mean, Nicola, you are career-driven but have a family as respite from it all. I think she's work, work and work."  
"It can't be easy I suppose to be like that." mused Nicola as she and Mick then fell silent. All around though they could hear the trees rustling and the wind beginning to whistle loudly. Kate was seemingly unaffected by it all and just continued to stare at the site.  
"I'm getting you back Doctor." she muttered to herself. "I am getting you back." she added as suddenly she heard screams from behind her. It was Nicola and Mick, and Kate immediately rushed to their car. "What is it?" she asked but didn't need a response as she could see in front of the car were the ghostly figures of the Hanners family. They were just still and unmoving. They'd appeared out of nowhere.  
"Help us…" then said the ghost of Henry.  
"Help us all…" came the next utterance from all the family. "We need peace…"


	6. Chapter 6

DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY

Chapter 6

* * *

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

"I am here to help," said Kate authoritatively to the ghosts of the Hanners family. "I have a friend who can help bring you the peace you want."  
"We need peace…" repeated the family once more eerily. Nicola and Mick just looked on in shock. Neither of them could quite believe what they were seeing. These people had been dead for nine years, yet to all intents and purposes they were here and conversing with those alive.  
"I need you to help me in the process though," continued Kate. "My friend is trapped…in that portal over there. He was taken. He can save you I promise…" she added with a motherly smile. The Hanners fell silent for a few moments. Then, the ghost of Henrietta stepped forward.  
"The portal is weakening. That is why we are here and are here for longer than we have been before." she said.  
"So you were appearing to warn us of the portal?" Nicola then asked after remembering her earlier encounter with Henry's ghost at UN.I.T. Henrietta nodded.  
"Yes," she then confirmed.  
"What does that actually mean though?" Kate then quizzed. "If the portal is weakening, does that mean it will close for good?"  
"It means the opposite," answered Henrietta. "Everything will spill out…"

INSIDE DEAVOE PORTAL, UNKNOWN TIME:

The Doctor's sonic whirred loudly as he tried to turn off the communicator between him and the lone Deavoe. He was struggling to think to himself with it swishing around in the air. It wasn't helped by the fact he was having to help the creature break through the portal otherwise he's be risking permanent death.  
"I hope you're proud of yourself." said the Doctor. "In any other circumstances, I wouldn't allow you through, but I've got to in this case. No TARDIS, no other weapons, it's just me and my sonic – the madman and his buzzing thing – I'm not _Inspector Gadget_ by any means at all."  
"Keep working," hissed the Deavoe. "I need to break free, we all need to break out there into the air."  
"You can't stay there you realise?" the Doctor then retorted. "You'll kill again, I know you will."  
"Then why do you do the work that will let us free?" the Deavoe wondered as it swished around the Doctor. The timelord refused to answer and prepared his sonic to fluctuate the portal once more.  
"It is weakening this thing you know," he remarked loudly. "Give it a couple more weeks, a month at the most, and it breaks forever. You don't need me."  
"We cannot wait…" insisted the Deavoe. "We have to be out there."  
"I can still refuse at any moment," retorted the Doctor as he dropped his sonic to the floor in protest. Folding his arms, he pulled a big smile at the Deavoe but wasn't sure it could see it too well in the darkness. The creature did though as it wrapped its tail around the Doctor tightly.  
"You do as you are told…" it hissed. "Break us free or it is your neck that is broken…" The Doctor agreed to carry on with the work but dreaded what was coming. He had no way of warning anyone, but then a thought came to his mind.  
"Let me just test the portal," he said after a quick whizz of the sonic. "Let me just send my bowtie through. If it's there when we get through, we know it worked well." he then explained. The Deavoe agreed and swished around in the air while the Doctor took off his bow tie. With the portal slightly open, he thrusted his bowtie through and hoped someone on the other end would get it.

HORACE HILL WOODS, JUST OUTSIDE LONDON, PRESENT DAY:

Without the Doctor at hand, Kate was still at a crossroads in terms of what to do. She couldn't just plough ahead with any old plan as it may have a bearing on the safety of the Doctor and she couldn't risk that happening. Advisors were now at the scene from UN.I.T but they were of little help. Nicola also drafted in help from fellow police colleagues but they too were not of much use.  
"We need to be prepared for anything," said Nicola on her phone to DAC Reith. "I needed the backup." she then tried to justify.  
"These men cannot just be put at risk like this," retorted her boss on the other end of the line. "Nicola, I handed this case to you because I trusted you to co-operate, but you're just gallivanting off here, there and everywhere trying to find something that isn't there. Yes, there may be alien involvement, but you and Mick should be at Scotland Yard, not at some poxy woods."  
"But the Hanners family, sir…" cut in Nicola. "I've seen them."  
"We all have." interrupted Reith. "The pictures of the bodies will never leave me. Their imprinted in my mind."  
"Not that sir, they're here….well, ghosts of them are." DI Baxter then tried to explain but she struggled. It was a relief when Reith cut the phone call off as she didn't know what to say after that. Her attention was soon taken elsewhere however as Mick made a discovery by the site of the portal.  
"Didn't the Doctor wear one of these?" he asked as he picked up a bowtie off the floor. Kate and Nicola just looked at it and could see there was something fresh about it. It had been several hours since the Doctor had been taken and this was clearly new.  
"He's breaking through." smiled Kate as she stepped towards the area of the portal. "Doctor!" she then called out. "It's me, it's Kate. Are you here?"  
"Miss Stewart, it's just his bowtie, it doesn't mean a thing." said Mick.  
"It's the Doctor's, it's means everything…" said Kate as suddenly she lurched backwards into nothing as the portal grabbed her and took her out of sight. Nicola and Mick were shocked and immediately called for assistance to guard the portal.  
"It's really, really major now isn't it?" asked Mick. Nicola just nodded in agreement.

INSIDE DEAVOE PORTAL, UNKNOWN TIME:

"Doctor! It's you, it's really you." smiled Kate as she could see the timelord right in front of her. She couldn't believe it, he was there. She was so relieved.  
"Sorry about the trip inside here," the Doctor then apologised. "It was a bit out of the blue, but then again so was my visit here."  
"What is this place?"  
"Remnants of the portal linking our world with that of the Deavoes." the Doctor explained.  
"I thought you said their world was gone, long gone."  
"Pieces remain…" then grumbled a voice in the darkness. "It is where some of us still remain. The planet is still burning for them, and we need to escape, all of us."  
"Don't mind him, it, thing…" said the Doctor to Kate. "Yes, it's a Deavoe but it's ok for now. Of course it wants to break through here and settle on Earth taking whatever gets in its way as breakfast, brunch and dinner, but aside from that, it is perfectly fine."  
"Surely you can take them to another world though, can't you?" Kate then wondered. "You can save us from all of this?"  
"I'd need the TARDIS in here, inside this half of the portal to do that and I can't risk that. All of time and space in one little box subjected to the possibilities of being ripped apart by that thing over there, it's too much of a gamble."  
"So let me get this right," Kate then began in an uncomfortable tone. "You're going to allow these things, the creatures that killed the Hanners family, out onto Earth and then once you're back at HQ take them to a new land?"  
"No," came the reply. Kate was confused.  
"Then what?"  
"Hold my hand," said the Doctor as he buzzed his sonic loudly. Kate obliged. "RUN!" he then said simply as the pair ran through the portal and back into the reality of Earth. The Deavoe had sensed what the Doctor was going to do though and raced with them growling all the way through into Earth's air. The ghosts of the Hanners family looked up into the sky and saw the Deavoe roam freely. Soldiers and police looked on in fear not knowing what to do.  
"Don't shoot!" the Doctor called out as he got to his feet. "It'll kill you quicker!" he then warned. Nicola rushed over to the Doctor.  
"Are you ok?" she asked. He nodded back happily and nodded on behalf of Kate.  
"Would have been nice of people to tell me about these ghosts though, wouldn't it?" the Doctor then chimed to himself loudly to everybody. "Wouldn't it?" he then aimed skyward at the Deavoe.  
"They are the last remnant…" growled the creature. "What remains of their good, their humanity."  
"They've been dead for nine years, how much longer do you want to keep that for? Henry would be in his early 20s now – he could have gotten married, become a dad, but no, he had to die in his teens, all because of you. Selfish you!"  
"They provoked us…" insisted the Deavoe as it then growled out a new sound. It rippled through the air and broke the glass in several of the UN.I.T vehicles. Everyone scrambled low for their own safety.  
"Doctor, what is it? What are they doing?" Kate then shouted to the Doctor through the Deavoe's sound.  
"It's calling out for back-up…" he said simply.  
"What?" said Nicola in shock.  
"It's calling in the big guns, the rest are on their way," continued the Doctor as he looked towards the portal. It was cracking all around its edges. "They're breaking through,"  
"How do we stop them?" Kate then asked.  
"No idea…" replied the timelord in a worried voice.


End file.
